HVL003 – A HEAVYLISTENING EXPERIENCE BY CARL SCHILDE

The most
minimal record
ever made.

One tone – unlimited possibilities.
An extraordinary experience. Starting at €33.33

WOW is a vinyl record containing a single ultra-low frequency which will alter slightly depending on the mechanical components of your record player. Use more than one system to play several records simultaneously and the air around you will start pulsating.

Play 33 ⅓ Hz on 33 ⅓ rpm or 45 Hz on 45 rpm. Feel free to use the pitch wheel or even touch the record to control the sub-sonic wave field. Your choice of record players, the number of records and the character of your room create your individual listening experience.

Feel your room resonate.

Both sides of WOW contain just a single sine tone, the most simple sound there is. Its frequency is directly proportional to the rotation speed of the record player. This means on a standard setting of 33 ⅓ rounds per minute (rpm) you’ll hear an extremely low tone of 33 ⅓ cycles per second (Hz). Play it at 45 rpm and you’ll hear a slightly higher bass tone of 45 Hz.

These frequencies are very close to the lower limit of human hearing and will be more felt than heard. This sensation can be irritating for some, pleasant for others.

Move around and you will experience your room’s reaction to the sound – some spaces will be shaking, others may be still.

Did you know?

The sine tone, being the most simple tone, is the source of all music. All periodic – tonal – sounds are in fact combinations of sine tones.

Touch the Bass.

WOW wants to be played by you.

It’s simple. Place WOW on your turntable like any other record and drop the needle. Decide which speed to play the record at. Choose between the standard settings of 33 ⅓ or 45 rpm – or even 78 or 16 ⅔ rpm if you own an older model. Use the pitch-wheel or touch the record to spin it at whatever speed you desire, to slow it down or speed it up.

You are now directly connected to the sound. Play the record like an instrument.

Did you know?

WOW contains more bass than any other record.

Sounds amazing. Looks amazing.

  • WOW’s unique sonics also yield a very special visual appearance...

  • The surface of the record reveals a characteristic spiral, resulting from the relationship of the constant bass frequency to the record’s gradually decreasing diameter towards its center.

  • Hold your WOW record up to the light and you will notice it breaking into all the colours of the spectrum.

The record that plays your record player.

Your record player is unique.

Being built from mechanical components that are never completely identical, two systems never sound exactly the same. There will be differences in speed resulting in slightly pitched playback – or even slow pitch modulations, technically termed Wow & Flutter.

Whereas you might not notice these effects when playing a normal record, WOW exposes even the slightest irregularities and places them at the centre of a unique sonic experience.

Play two records simultaneously on two systems and a powerful sub-sonic rhythm will emerge, pulsating slowly. Feel the air move around and inside you. This is the WOW.

What is the WOW?

When two slightly differently pitched tones are played back at the same time, a rhythmic modulation of volume will occur, ranging from complete silence to twice the volume of the original sound. This is what happens when a guitar is being tuned. We took this well-known effect to the sub-bass range and we call it the WOW. It’s the beating heart of several of our projects. Find out more about the WOW

More than the sum of its parts.

You can use any number of record players to create a WOW. The sub-sonic rhythms will get more complex with every record you add to the composition.

Feel the bass waves amplify and eradicate each other unpredictably. Move around your room or even go next door to explore all facets of the wave-field.

Now change the settings on your systems. Touch one or several records and see if you can control the WOW.

© Markus Kaesler

“…a hypnotic rhythm that last night vibrated through the church and the people inside, creating the wonderful illusion of a huge, communal beating heart.” Lo/Rez Magazine

WOW live.

While we strongly encourage you to try WOW at home, we also like to play it ourselves.

At CTM.13 festival Berlin we premiered as the world's most minimal DJs, spinning only four WOW records.

WOW has also been shown as an interactive installation numerous times, including at Ars Electronica festival.

And to celebrate the record release, we even drenched a whole church in sub-bass.

THE MOTHER OF ALL RECORDS

Own
the real thing
for € 33.333.33

All WOW records come from the same place: this master record, also called The Mother – MOM.

Once it’s sold, no more WOW records can or will be made.

find out more

Order now.

WOW is available as a first edition of 333 copies, hand-numbered by the artist. The lower numbers of the edition are being sold first.

“Takes minimalism to a new plateau.” The Verge

“Perhaps the best recorded equivalent of John Cage’s legendary four-plus minutes of scored silence.” Create Digital Music

"The whole concept makes me upset,
but in a good way."VICE

"Sound art of the highest order."de:bug

Carl Schilde

The Artist

Sound artist, musician and conceptual master-mind Carl Schilde is a co-founder of HEAVYLISTENING. Carl is influenced by contemporary art as much as by mainstream popular culture, seeking for universal truth in both Roman Opalka and Jersey Shore.

Get to know Carl

HEAVYLISTENING was founded in 2011 by Carl Schilde & Anselm Venezian Nehls.
They create and curate award-winning sonic experiences.

Learn more about HEAVYLISTENING